As the weather warms up in Sydney, it’s not just the city’s natural assets that come alive. The city streets, art institutions and dining rooms burst with ideas, festivals and enthusiasm. Visit an iconic stage within a harbour landmark, find innffovative eats across the city, and let loose on dance floors. Throughout spring and beyond you’ll find countless ways to play – here’s a handful of reasons why you should visit Sydney right now…

Visit a world-class venue: The Sydney Opera House

• Bringing theatre, music, comedy and dance to Sydney since 1973, the Sydney Opera House plays host to many of Sydney’s festival programs and events, as well as providing its own wildly diverse programming throughout the year. Book in to see a classic opera reimagined, introduce your kids to a future interest in the arts, or see up-and-coming locals make the stage their own.
• Step beyond the Sydney Opera House’s sails with a tour that peeks behind the curtain to reveal secret spaces and histories. Complement your visit with a meal that matches the scenery and book a tour and dine package at Opera Bar or House Canteen.
• Settle in for a fine-dining experience under the sails at Bennelong, enjoy native produce at Midden by Mark Olive or dine with a view of the icon at Aria Sydney. Stay within an easy walking distance in luxury lodgings at the Park Hyatt or the Pullman Quay Grand.

Explore the city’s creativity

• The city’s theatres, whether heritage or a more intimate stage, bring in both A-list actors and international musicals, as well as experimental works. Toe-tap along to the Tony Award-winning production of MJ The Musical at the Sydney Lyric Theatre and experience a uniquely ‘Sydney’ event backdropped by the harbour at dusk with Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, where this year the floating stage is set for a production of the Broadway musical Hit Guys & Dolls. For a night of Celine Dion celebration, snatch up tickets to see hit, Titanique.
• Clear your schedule for six days of mind-blowing ideas and performances as the world’s disruptors, tech visionaries and artists converge in October for SXSW Sydney  celebrating innovation with more than 1,000 speakers, workshops, parties and shows.
• In Sydney, there’s a festival for every interest. Celebrate on the street and in the club at the historic Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, see the CBD get taken over by music and art during Sydney Festival, find an illuminated cityscape and new ideas at Vivid Sydney, see a colossal firework display before an all-night party at New Year’s Eve, and join the free celebration around Sydney icons at Australia Day Live.
• Sydney’s dance floors host artists of all genres, on stages of all sizes. See global stars such as Coldplay, Billie Eilish and Childish Gambino light up a Sydney stadium or let your hair down in a Sydney pub or club.
• Unwind with your tribe at one of Sydney’s many live music venues serving up DJ-spun beats. You’ll find everything from jazz to experimental electronica at old-school theatre The Vanguard, a diverse line-up of acts at The Factory Theatre; local and international musicians at the beloved Enmore; more experimental gigs at Phoenix Central Park; and late-night-to-early-morning revelry at Pleasure Club.
• Hit the pavement with Local Sauce Tours for a spin around the area’s best street eats and artworks.
• The Art Gallery of New South Wales and Museum of Contemporary Art are the city’s big-hitting, internationally significant galleries. Fine art appreciators shouldn’t miss the Sydney International Art Series, which showcases some of the world’s most revered artists at these famous galleries.
• Be moved by millennia-old stories retold through contemporary dance with performances by First Nations troupe Bangarra, and the Sydney Dance Company.
• Sydney's colonial history is revealed through the city skyline on an architecture tour, as you discover how a convict settlement evolved into an avant-garde, bustling city.

Unearth the best harbour views

• Take in the sun-bathed, shimmering beauty from the city’s rooftop bars or ascend to a higher level at Altitude, Infinity or Oncore by Clare Smyth for fine-dining fare that holds its own against the cityscape below.
• Level-up your romance from above the harbour, and get the lay of the land and sea, with helicopter flightseeing, seaplane adventures and scenic spins on Luna Park Sydney’s Ferris wheel.
• Sydney Harbour has witnessed 65,000 years of First Nations stories. See the history at the ancient Grotto Point engraving site, on a tour with an Aboriginal elder, and as you wander Bondi’s clifftops with Walangari Karntawarra.
• Maroon yourself in Sydney Harbour overnight with a camping experience at the abandoned prison and shipyard that is Cocktatoo Island. Spooky, beautiful and riveting, a stay here is a peep back in time to Sydney’s convict and maritime past.
• Spruce up your feed with scenic pics from the vantage points of the harbourside scenes of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair; the lush waterside oasis that is Wendy’s Secret Garden; Hornby Lighthouse and its migrating whales, on the north side of the Harbour Bridge; and at epic sunrise spots at North Head Sanctuary.
• Awake to harbour waters peeping through the window of a luxury room at Pier One, Ovolo, Crown Towers, the Hyatt Regency, Four Seasons, or the architecturally fascinating W Sydney Hotel.

Dive in and revive your body and soul

• Strike a pose in a real-life postcard as you roll out your towel, and camera, on Bondi Beach’s golden sands; dip into the city’s most Instagrammable pool and check the views from a higher vantage point with a luxury Italian meal at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar.
• Find a new rush as you learn to surf the iconic waves at Manly and Maroubra.
• Untether from daily life with a revitalising float in the inviting sea at one of 35 ocean pools between Cronulla and Palm Beach.
• Slip on your fins and snorkel on a guided adventure in Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, where an astonishing 150 species of fish flit below the waves.
• Tuck into local seafood over a long lunch at beachside eateries, such as The Collaroy, Sean’s Bondi or the Coogee Bay Hotel, where the Marra Bar & Grill’s prawn pasta and fresh tiger prawns are perfectly palate-pleasing.

Cruise and chill out

• Get on deck for a journey through Sydney’s saltwater centre, witnessing harbour vignettes that’ve inspired a myriad of artists. Learn the ropes with EastSail, appreciate the wisdom and custodianship of First Nations people on an Aboriginal cultural cruise, set sail on a classic Sydney Tallship or get the party well and truly afloat on a party boat.
• Discover your own patch of harbour paradise on a secret island with a picnic cruise.
• Spike as your adrenaline as a jetboat kicks into gear, reaching top-speed as it passes harbour highlights of Clark and Shark Islands, and Watsons Bay.
• See Sydney gently awaken in stillness and serenity on a sunrise kayak tour, or paddle yourself into a core workout aboard a stand-up paddleboard in Rose Bay.

Fine dining, street food and all the cuisines of the world

• Take your place at an acclaimed harbourside table at award-winners Quay, Margaret, or Café Sydney, or find an equally delicious, more casual feast at the city-centre dining hubs of Chinatown and Sydney Place.
• In Inner Sydney, the Kensington Street and South Eveleigh precincts offer a banquet of cuisines and styles. Or settle in for a fine-dining feast at the innovative tables of Sixpenny, Firedoor, Ester or Porteno.
• Western Sydney’s multicultural neighbourhoods plate up a world of flavours. Taste the aromatic banquets of Afghani cuisine, the street food in Little India, and one of the most vibrant hubs outside of Vietnam in Cabramatta. Let a local guide you with a foodie tour where you’ll sample a buffet of diverse flavours or book into a cooking school to get equipped with the culinary skills to replicate them at home.
• Sip a well-made cocktail at the speakeasy-inspired bars of YCK Laneways, and frock up to match the elegant surrounds at Shell House and Employees Only.
• Hit the Inner West ale trail for the highest concentration of breweries in the country, including some of best independent craft breweries in Australia.
• Load up your market basket with local produce and hand-crafted delicacies at the city’s many vibrant farmers’ and food markets. Tuck in at Bondi, Pyrmont, Eveleigh, Kings Cross and many more.

Find your people

• From Darlinghurst to Newtown and beyond, join a welcoming queer social scene at a host of LGBTQIA+-friendly bars, clubs and experiences across the city – including tours with drag queens.
• Share the agony, glory and euphoria with thousands of others at a grandstand sporting event such as the Summer of Cricket or the Sydney Everest racing carnival.
• Get your game on at Fortress Sydney, one of the largest gaming centres in the Southern Hemisphere. Book a private booth or battle it out in arcades, watch e-sports or try a new (or classic) boardgame.

Dress with the best of Sydney design

• Whether you’re on the hunt for a dress to impress or a new look, Sydney’s boutiques have the best of Australian design. Find leading Australian and international labels at the Queen Victoria Building and Strand Arcade, and make time to peruse Pitt Street Mall’s 600-plus specialty stores. The upmarket boutiques of Paddington Intersection and Newtown’s vintage shopping strip along King Street are also must-shops for the fashion-forward.
• Find your next treasured item searching the eclectic racks of Sydney’s atmospheric markets in The Rocks, Glebe, Paddington, Rozelle and Bare Island.

Outdoor adventure is around the corner

• The World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains are just an hour from Sydney. Here you’ll find adventure suspended above a valley at Scenic World, at thundering waterfalls, and on a bushwalk abundant with native flora and fauna.
• See Sydney in panorama atop the world-famous Coathanger (AKA Sydney Harbour Bridge) on the BridgeClimb Ultimate experience or pair your ascent with a new perspective from an Indigenous storyteller when you embark on the Burrawa Aboriginal Bridge Climb Experience.
• Go west for a wild, adrenaline-spiking rush. At Raging Waters Sydney,brace yourself for an extravaganza of 40 water slides, while in nearby Penrith you can take flight with a jetpack or indoor skydive. .
• Try a more predictable surf spot with URBNSURF, where 600 ocean-perfect waves roll across a blue, man-made lagoon every hour.
• Snag the catch of the day on a guided fishing adventure in Sydney Harbour.
• Frolic under waterfalls, gaze at the blue beyond and bathe in the dusty green hues of the Australian bush at the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south. Here you can paddle out to explore charming Audley by canoe, wander to ancient Aboriginal engravings and picnic beside sparkling beaches.
• Up for a new challenge? Visit Sydney Olympic Park to try your hand at archery, hit the trapeze and test your balance on a segway tour.
• Lace up your trainers for the most spectacular running tracks in the city: Bondi to Coogee; Bundeena to Otford; and Manly Lagoon to North Head.

Wildlife encounters to fill your heart

• Enjoy harbour vistas as you greet the animals of Taronga Zoo, just a short ferry ride from Circular Quay. Check the schedule to hear the keeper talks or even jump in the enclosure to feed your favourite creature. Extend your visit with a night at Taronga’s Wildlife Retreat or settle in for a Roar and Snore glamping adventure.
• Meet 4,000 animals at Sydney Zoo (take a peek from above with the park’s giant Ferris wheel). At nearby Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park, 260 different species are on standby to greet you. Book an encounter experience to meet them in the pen.
• See some of the largest and smartest animals to ever live up close on a whale-watching cruise around the waters of Sydney.
• Feel your heart melt when you meet Australia’s Big Five – koalas, platypus, wombats, kangaroos and crocs – at WILD LIFE Sydney and pocket some memorable encounters with ocean-dwellers, such as sharks and penguins, at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium.